Using HIPAA-Secure Live Sessions to Develop Therapy Skills

September 13, 2018

Designed into SA is a unique process to assist supervisees with therapy skills training. Supervisees and supervisors access the application through SA’s HIPAA-secure video recording system.

The process for supervisees to record role-play and client sessions is very efficient and saves supervisors and supervisees significant time and frustration. The HIPAA-secure video recording process also sets a new benchmark that addresses CACREP standards with exceptional qualitative formative feedback in a timely, and collaborative process.

The SA video recording system is designed to strengthen therapy foundational skills through repetitive practice, analysis and reflection on supervisee-client sessions.

The analysis and reflection following supervisee-client sessions intensifies their awareness and sensitivity to understanding, appreciating, and applying foundational therapy skills.

This is a WIN-WIN-WIN approach to training. Supervisees’ peers are active and collaborative in this training process. They are taught to apply Foundational Therapy concepts in an analysis of their own and others’ client therapy sessions.

Supervisees who receive feedback from their peers and supervisors have multiple sources observations to reflect on as they review their recorded video sessions. Supervisors “win” from having an organized and secure process that allows them to increase time spent doing what they do best.

Below are a couple of options that supervisors can consider for supervising HIPAA-secure recorded video supervisee-client sessions.

Option 1
Each week a supervisee is asked to provide a recorded video client session to be reflected on by peer supervisees and later to be discussed during a group supervision session. Faculty Supervisors can establish small groups (5 or less) and assign each group member one or more concepts that are foundational to therapy.

Supervisees can be ask to concentrate on the concepts as they analyze a recorded video client session. Supervisors are encouraged to review the student’s recorded video fully or spot-check segments of the recording. Supervisors can maximize discussion and collaboration during group supervision session by having supervisees’ explore the observations and comments from the recorded client session.

Option 2
An alternative approach is to divide supervisees into small groups and have group members rotate positions of responsibility. The supervisees would provide online cloud-based reviews of each other’s sessions. Supervisees would notify the supervisor as to date and time of any online peer collaborative analysis and reflection of a supervisee’s recorded client session.

The notification will allow the faculty supervisor to jump into any live review session or recorded session that occurs. Additionally, highlights of issues from the online peer group reviews could be presented at the faculty group supervision sessions.

Evaluation

This therapy skills training provides supervisees with formative evaluation (i.e., feedback from peers and supervisor on development of foundational therapy skills). The feedback itself is an important formative evaluation process.

There are multiple sources (students and supervisors) who provide reviews and comments on the supervisees’ application of foundation therapy skills. Each supervisee receives feedback from peers and in return provides analysis and feedback.